Asari Ally
by Skylar59
Summary: The events of Mass Effect, but from Liara T'Soni's perspective. (I try anyway lol) With a female Shepard (mainly Paragon, with the Colonist/war hero background). I dunno, I thought I'd give it a try to see what it would be like from another character's perspective. And Liara is a bamf, so there. *shrug* Rated T for now, may go to M later
1. A Scholar in Stasis

**\- Chapter 1: A Scholar in Stasis -**

* * *

 _A/N: I thought it would be real neat to recall the events of Mass Effect from Liara's point of view. Adding things in between and all that jazz. It's more for fun._

 _I'll try my best to stick with the canon (dialog and stuff) pertaining to Shepard being primarily Paragon with the Colonist/war hero background. And... yeah..._

 _Ps: I don't own Mass effect or any of that stuff cuz if I did I wouldn't have the end of ME3 be a (spoiler) steaming turd (even with my shit writing lol).  
I'm writing this more cuz it seems like a fun exercise to see how things played out from another characters POV.  
I don't know. I don't know how long I'll go with this. I'll update every now and again._

 _Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think._

* * *

It took a significant amount of time, research, and persuasion on Dr. Liara T'Soni's part, but it finally happened.

Her research grant request was approved. Liara finally obtained the required permissions and funding to lead her very first archeological expedition - in the prothean ruins on Therum no less.

This grant approval came as a pleasant surprise to Dr. T'soni. She suspected that her work wasn't being taken as seriously for someone of her age and for someone who only graduated recently. For an asasi, she was pretty young to already have a doctorate degree and to be requesting funding for such a large and costly expedition. It took long enough, but the board of directors must have finally taken into account her level of perseverance, and hard work throughout her studies as a student at the University of Serrice, as well as her enthusiasm and combined effort with Professor Henell during her time in the prothean dig on Dretirop.

This was all incredibly exciting, for the young doctor. After all, this expedition on Therum was her chance to further her investigation on her theory surrounding the cycle of extinction that he protheans found themselves to be part of. This expedition was to be a major opportunity to demonstrate to the academic community that her theories had plenty of merit and deserved further investigation.

She packed everything she thought she needed for the endeavor. She was ready for whatever discoveries she would make regarding the protheans.

What Liara didn't expect to find, however, were geth. A whole lot of them.

" _Geth?_ ", she questioned to herself, _"What are they doing beyond the veil?_ "

Something in her gut was telling her that they were up to no good. Following her instinct to not reveal her presence to the unexpected intruders, she crouched behind the mining laser she had brought in for her excavation. The geth look as though they were on the hunt for something, or someone. Frozen in place out of fear of being spotted, Liara watched anxiously as the mechanical beings ransacked the dig site. She winced at the sight of the geth's indifference towards the wellbeing of the supplies she brought in, as they broke crates and marched over marked off areas of the cavern. They acted as though they had tunnel vision as narrow as the light on the center of their head. They had one goal.

Whatever they were looking for, they seemed determined to find it.

Suddenly, a yellow, brutish looking krogan stormed his way into the dig site. The geth turned to face him.

"Goddess, this can't be good...", she muttered to herself as she ducked further behind the deactivated mining laser.

"Alright, listen up", he barked with a thunderous tone that sent a pang of fear through Liara's spine, "I don't care what you have to do, but we need to find Benezia's daughter."

The krogan slammed his fist down on the railing ledge for emphasis.

"Saren's leads said that she'd be here," he continued, "and we are not leaving this shit hole until we find that doctor."

Liara gulped, wide eyed.

 _"Benezia? But... It's been years! And Saren? What could they want with me?",_ Liara thought to herself, equally bewildered and worried and what all of this could mean.

"Tear the place apart if you have to!", the battlemaster bellowed "find Dr. T'soni!"

The geth resumed their thorough search of the excavation site as Liara hid behind the mining equipment. She couldn't stay there for long undiscovered, and the only way out she could recall was now being blocked by a angry looking krogan. Eventually they would find her, and she had no idea what their intentions were.

She hasn't spoken to her mother in many years. The reasoning behind her sudden interest in her daughter's whereabouts, and the part in which the geth played in it were completely unknown to her. Whatever it was they wanted from her, she wouldn't do it. Not without a fight.

Liara knew very well that she was outnumbered 100 to 1, and she still wasn't sure if the krogan and his squadron of geth intended on apprehending her dead or alive or even if that mattered at all to Benezia. Despite being well trained with her biotic abilities, she knew that plowing her way through the geth and the krogan blocking the stairway would be suicide all on her own. She had to look for another way, and fast.

Looking around frantically, she set her eyes on the prothean tech she was examining not long before the geth made their appearance. It was a small chamber that lead to a larger structure on the other side. It looked like an elevator. As far as she could tell, if she switched on the old barrier curtains leading towards that entrance, she could find another way out up through there.

It wasn't a perfect plan, and it was a major risk. She would hope that the barriers would switch up in time without a hitch, or it would be a race to the top otherwise.

Still, it beats being a sitting duck; cowering behind mining equipment while awaiting a seemingly inevitable capture.. or death.

"Here goes nothing," she whispered aloud before making a b-line towards the barrier switch.

Alerted by her presence, the geth turned and ran towards the fleeing asari, shooting in her direction. Liara was quick to dodge the barrage of bullets, and strengthened her biotic shield for good measure. It would last her the short sprint towards the control panel of the prothean device.

"GET HER!", the battle master commanded as he charged down the stairs.

In a panic, and breathing heavily from adrenaline, Liara punched in a sequence of codes into the control pad, hoping for the best. Thanks to the many years she spent studying the protheans, she was vaguely familiar with the mechanics of their technology. Still, there was not much time for trial and error. Getting the alien barrier curtains up properly was difficult enough, but doing so while keeping the charging geth and angry krogan at bay was a whole other story.

With the final flip of a switch, an impenetrable blue force field appeared almost instantaneously in the entrance of the small enclosure; effectively sealing off the invaders on the other side. Liara took a step back from the control panel, and turned towards the blue barrier curtain and the sea of enemies behind it. A few geth on the front lines shot towards the force field, and a few more tried slamming into it with their entire body weight. Everything ricocheted off of the barrier curtain.

They're not getting through that any time soon. So far so good.

Unwilling to risk wasting time in that room under the assumption that the now sealed off entrance was - in fact - the only way into this area of the ruin from that side, Liara turned her attention back towards the control panel. In her frantic efforts to get the barrier curtains up in the first place, she effectively sealed off both sides of the small enclosure. In order to get out, she had to turn off the barrier curtain leading towards the elevator looking structure on the other side of the ruin. She had to do so, ideally, while leaving on the barrier which prevented the geth and krogan on the other side from coming in after her.

"Don't just stand there! Find another way in!", the krogan demanded as the geth began to disperse throughout that side of the excavation site.

Liara heard the semi-distorted screaming of the angry krogan behind the barrier, but did her best to tune it out. She didn't have time to worry about the potential damage the intruders may have caused on the ruins. That would be a problem for later. Right now she needed to find a way out.

"Ok let's see here...", Dr. T'soni pondered to herself as she examined the barrier's controls. "Maybe this is it…"

She flipped another switch, hoping that it was the right one.

Without warning, her body rose up from the ground in near complete stasis. Facing the still active barrier curtain and entrance she came from. She heard the sound of the barrier curtain behind her shut off. She couldn't move.

She got the barrier she wanted down, but now she's stuck.

Frustrated at her partial success and her predicament of being stuck in stasis, the doctor hung her head slightly.

"Goddess... I shouldn't have done that...", the doctor muttered angrily to herself.

The krogan leader took notice of the doctor's misstep and grinned. He approached the barrier curtain with his arms crossed.

"Well well... It looks like you're little escape plan didn't work out as well as you hoped", he mocked with a crooked grin.

Liara glared back at the krogan, wordlessly telling him to shove off.

"But don't worry, we will find another way in," the krogan continued in a tone that combined threats and feigned reassurance, "You'll be out of there in no time."

The krogan turned away from the suspended doctor and marched back out into the dimly lit corridors. All Liara could do now is hang there and wait.

She heard the muffled sounds of boxes being toppled over, and machinery being moved in the distance. With very little options left, she hung her head down slightly in defeat. She was stuck. He was right.

The only hope she had left was the knowledge that the members of the University of Serrice knew that she would be here during this time. That way, if and when she gets taken away or eliminated in these ruins, at least someone else out there would know of her whereabouts. She held onto the sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be others on the way to check on her status if enough time went by without her usual scheduled report to the academic administration. Another thought crept its way into Liara's mind which entertained the idea that Benezia received her coordinates from the very university that granted her access to Therum in the first place. She dismissed it. However all of this happened, didn't matter. It wouldn't matter unless she finds a way out of this mess.

"Well... That could have gone better," she grumbled in defeat.


	2. Stay Awake T'Soni

**\- Chapter 2: Stay Awake T'Soni -**

* * *

 _A/N: I don't own the thing. Don't sue me. Thank._

 _And for future reference: for the sake of not "playing the name game" and/or being extremely vague when it comes to looks,_

 _I'm using the default female Shepard for looks, and I will avoid using a first name altogether. Just... Yeah... Shepard is fine!_

 _Also looking back on this chapter.. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot. I don't know._

 _I'm just trying out stuff. I'll upload more soon (less boring chapter to come haha)_

 _I'll now stop shoving these notes up here unless absolutely necessary. Thanks! Haha_

* * *

" _Stay awake, T'soni,_ " Liara demanded internally.

"Y _ou need to be ready for when they come in here._ "

Unable to do anything else until someone finds a way to shut off the prothean technology that kept her safe from the geth while subsequently trapping her in stasis, Liara T'Soni did her very best to will herself into staying awake. She could not risk being taken by surprise if she were to succumb to her exhaustion. She had to be prepared for as long as her body and mind were able to.

" _By the Goddess, you need to f_ _ocus,"_ she snapped at herself once again.

Unfortunately, as the hours went by, it was getting increasingly difficult to stay alert. Her sense of time began to warp as she found herself slipping further and further into the manipulative hands of anxiety, malnutrition and exhaustion. It played with her mind, whispering to her, repeating her worries back to her.

"I will get out of here. _"_ , Liara whispered in a low tone, her throat aching at the words.

No one has spoken to her since the krogan and the geth began to spread out in search of an alternate way into the room in which she held herself captive. She had no real reason to speak other than expressing her thoughts aloud.

"I need to get out of here." Liara muttered again to herself.

She is unsure of whether she actually believed it, or if she was trying to persuade the doubt in her head to be more optimistic. Any attempt in reassurance, no matter how futile, was better than nothing.

Liara began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She never planned for any of this to happen. It was only a matter of time before she would either have to face the army of geth head on, be captured, killed, die in these ruins while in stasis, or any combination of those. No matter what, she was screwed. She didn't want to believe it, but her worries kept creeping up on her as time went on.

" _How long has it been?"_ , Liara pondered.

It didn't help that there was no natural light filtering into the ruins, or any other sort of point of reference she could use in order to figure out how much time has passed. Even the couple of remaining geth that were ordered to stay behind directly on the other side of the barrier curtain have wandered off. She could hear their mechanical footsteps and occasional beeps and hums, but otherwise, that was it.

It's not like she was going anywhere anytime soon.

Liara felt a pang of hunger in her gut. Her stomach growled angrily. She groaned at the uncomfortable feeling of her empty stomach protesting so loudly.

It was getting to the point where she began to hope that the geth actually do end up finding some way in...

At least before she starves to death.

She sighed, exasperated and exhausted. Her muscles ached from being suspended in the same position. Her head pounded from the mix of emotions and thoughts she continuously tried to calm down while simultaneously making an effort to maintain her focus on her surroundings. The weight of her eyelids began to feel like too much of an onerous task to hold up. She had no idea how long she was holding them up. All of this is incredibly tiring. It's too tiring.

Liara's mind began to drift off. Against her will, she started to doze off. Drowsy and delirious from her racing thoughts and deteriorating state of health due to being held up and stuck for so long with little to no outside stimuli, her mind wandered off to rest.


	3. Hope for the Best, Brace for the Worst

**\- Chapter 3: Hope for the Best, Brace for the Worst -**

* * *

 _A/N: Ok Ok, I have to say this. Using dialog from the story and all that really feels like I'm being lazy.  
_

 _Haha... I don't know... I do want to stick to canon dialog so I guess that's something I need to get past._

 _If I'm messing up or forgetting something please tell me!  
I'm going as far as replaying the game and having 10000 save files just to make sure I get the dialog and all that jazz... but human error is always a thing! _

_Besides, there are plenty of things that happened off screen or on the side that can be played with. That should be fun as well!_

 _This is fun. I'll keep updating if that's cool with you all (:_

 _(now for real this time.. I'll calm down with the author's notes lol sorry)_

NINJA EDIT: lmao got the wrong title in there... fixed it now... also good titles are hard to come up with... whoever can do that so easily: bless!

* * *

Liara T'Soni awoke suddenly to the sounds of gunshots and footsteps coming from the levels above the cavern. The sounds of shooting subsided and the faint sounds of a few footsteps grew louder. They didn't sound as mechanical as the geth she has been hearing patrolling the area for who knows how long. It must be someone else. Maybe it was reinforcements. Hopefully it was the kind that would help her escape after getting her out of this containment field, and not the kind that would free her only to kill her or send her away with the geth.

At this point, she'll take whatever she can get. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes in a groggy state, she focused on what the sounds could be.

Liara could hear unfamiliar voices in the distance as they echoed gently through the open space of the dig site. It was difficult to tell, but she could partially make out two, maybe three different voices. One of them sounded a little like the krogan that was after her from the beginning, which caused a little bit of concern to wash over the trapped doctor.

" _If you're not geth_ ", Liara questioned internally, " _then who are you? What do you want with me?_ "

Just then, the sound of the maintenance elevator on the upper levels shook through the open space of the dig site.

" _Goddess, this better not be my mind playing tricks on me._ ", she thought to herself.

It was difficult to see from where she was, but Liara could tell that the elevator was heading her way. Whoever these people are, she'll know soon enough.

"It looks like this cavern formed around the ruin", one of the unfamiliar voices said snidely, "After it was built."

The voice sounded like it was coming through a helmet or something, but it still seemed organic all the same. Liara deduced that it had to have come from a Quarian.

Liara, while still feeling dizzy and lightheaded, shifted her attention to the sounds of footsteps drawing near. She could also see some geth in the distance holding a position. It's almost as if they are waiting for the strangers to make their way down the ruins towards Liara.

"Sterile white," she heard the krogan sounding voice say, "protheans sure build things homey."

" _Strange..."_ Liara thought as she observed the blurry silhouettes of the geth in the distance. " _Must be a different krogan, or else they wouldn't be there like that..."_

Out of the corner of her eye, Liara could see the elevator coming down towards the level she's stuck on. The debris in the way of the shaft - probably left there by some tampering on the part of the geth - caused the elevator to skid to a halt just above her sealed off prothean prison. She heard a thud coming from the small group of strangers as they jumped down from the broken elevator. Whoever these people are, the geth don't seem to like them all that much. Not that it made much of a difference to Liara at this point.

Whoever they are, she's going to make them help her get out of there.

"Uh... Hello?", Liara called out cautiously.

She could now see three different people make their way down towards the front of the room she is trapped in. Unwilling to risk them not spotting her, Liara called out again.

"Could somebody help me? Please?", the trapped doctor hollered out towards the strangers.

Three individuals made their way over to the other side of the barrier curtain. Liara could see them more clearly now, as their appearance growing clearer as they made their way closer to the barrier.

First she saw the alarming outline of a krogan, but felt a little relieved when she realized that this wasn't the same krogan that was leading the geth. Unlike the first krogan that attacked her, the one standing before her looked even more menacing - if that were even possible. His blood red armor is visibly worn and scratched from use, but otherwise it looked well kept. The deep scar across the right side of his face made him look like he has seen more than his fair share of conflict. The way he carried himself was all that she needed to see in order to come to the conclusion that he has no intentions to hurt her, but he could if necessary.

Right beside him, was a quarian. She looked rather young but all the more ready for any adversaries she may face. It turns out she was right after all in her observations. Her purple helmet obscured her features, but Liara could tell that she could trust her as well - assuming that they were all on the same side.

Leading slightly ahead of the quarian and the krogan, Liara couldn't help but take notice of the equally well armed human soldier before her. She's probably the leader of this whole operation she has going for her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but her instincts told her that she could trust the human as well. Not like she had many options when it came to any sort of rescue team.

"Can you hear me out there?", Liara called out urgently to the approaching trio, "I am trapped. I need help!"

The human holstered her gun, to Liara's relief, as she slowly made her way over to face her. She must be friendly. The krogan and quarian holstered their weapons as well, but stayed further back from the barrier. The human soldier is probably the leader of this whole operation she has going for her.

"Are you ok?", the human asked with an undertone of concern, "What happened to you?"

"Listen," Liara replied, "This thing that I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. Alright?"

Despite the fact that her facial expression was distorted slightly by the fluctuations of the barrier curtain, Liara could still tell that the human before her was staring at her with suspicion.

With an air of caution – which sounded almost accusatory – the human spoke once more:

"Your mother is working with Saren. Whose side are you on?"

"What?!", Liara blurted out, taken aback by the news. "I am not on anybody's side!"

Feeling a little insulted that the actions of her mother somehow, according to the human's logic, seemed to be a possible direct reflection of her own intentions, Liara reassured the human on her stance in matters concerning her mother.

"I may be Benezia's daughter," the asari continued while trying her best to keep her voice calm, "but I'm nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please. Just get me out of here."

The human in front of her relaxed a bit, but pressed forward with her interrogation.

"How did you end up in there?", the human inquired.

"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up," Liara explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "so I hid in here."

"Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!", Liara exclaimed. She almost couldn't believe it herself, yet it was the truth. She hoped that the human would see that she was being honest.

Liara lowered her gaze, motioning to the control panel on her left and continued to describe what happened to get her stuck. The human listened to her intently.

"I activated the tower's defenses," the asari explained, "I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to."

She looked back up at the human on the other side of the barrier.

"I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please."

The human seemed satisfied with her answers and sensed the urgency in her pleas for help. She took a small step back.

"We'll find some way to help you," the human reassured her gently.

With newfound energy derived by her hope in the human and her squad mates' ability to help her out, Liara looked up once more towards the trio and spoke:

"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain."

The human nodded. It sounded simple enough so far.

"That's the tricky part.", Liara continued at a loss for ideas, "The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."

"Be careful," the asari warned, "There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."

The human nodded again and walked away from the barrier. The form of the trio grew more distorted by the warping blue light of the barrier curtain the further away they walked. The human seemed so sure of herself that she would be able to get her out of the barrier. It seemed like an impossible task. The krogan and his geth have been trying for who knows how long now.

The trapped asari let out a sigh of discontent. She is doing her best to hope for the best case scenario – which involved the human and her crew getting her out of here – but at the same time she couldn't help but brace herself for the worst. She didn't want to die trapped in here.

" _Good luck._ ", Liara thought to herself as she continued to hold onto hope for the human's success.


	4. Battering Laser

**\- Chapter 4: Battering Laser -**

* * *

The sounds of gunshots filled the air once again. Dr. T'Soni winced at the alarming sounds of battle. There was nothing she could do about it from where she was, and she was certainly in no position to fight. All she could do was listen and hope that the human, quarian, and krogan all made it out ok and were finding some way inside.

An impossible task, sure. But something told the trapped asari that they were the type of team that could handle impossible situations.

Liara took a deep breath to calm down her nerves. She closed her eyes and focused on the sounds going on around her. The sounds of gunfire ceased gradually. Only one side of that conflict remained. Hopefully it was the human's crew that made it. It had to be.

She carried herself so well, she knew what she was doing. A few geth couldn't possibly stop her.

Liara opened her eyes again. She refused to think pessimistically about the situation. She couldn't afford to lose hope in escaping now. Not when she's so close to being free.

Without warning, Liara snapped her eyes shut instinctively in order to shield herself from the instantaneous appearance of a powerful light. The powerful beam of energy shot directly below her, consequently blinding the already blurry view of the barricaded ruins that laid on the other side of the prothean defense system she is trapped in. The beam of light is accompanied by the deep roaring sounds of rocks being evaporated and crumblings below her. It felt like she was hovering over top of a thunderstorm, as clouds of smoke and gravel traveled upwards from the blast below her.

She recognized the sounds, it came from the very equipment she was using to dig her way through these ruins, before everything went to shit. Someone, for reasons beyond her, activated and shot the mining laser.

" _What good would that do?_ ", Liara thought to herself as she shook her head in contemplation.

As the dust from the blast of the mining equipment started to settle down, Liara could see – through the gap between the fallen debris and access ramps – the faint outlines of the human, krogan, and quarian, running towards the laser's recent target directly below her. It made very little sense to her, but then again… They could be onto something.

To the asari's delight and utter surprise, she heard the sounds of an elevator behind her making its way upwards, followed by the sounds of footsteps growing closer behind her.

" _Could it be –_ ", Liara wondered in amazement all the while unable to help herself from craning her neck as far around as she could. She needed to see if it was really them.

It's them. Human, krogan, quarian. All easily visible now, on the same side of the barrier as her. She can't believe it.

"How...", the stunned asari stammered, "How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!"

Wasting no time, the human responded:

"We have to get you out of here before more geth arrive."

"Yes you're right", Liara says as she turns her head to face forward again; her neck cramping up slightly from turning around against the stasis field which encased her. "I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime."

Liara gestures her head slightly to the left and continues:

"That button should shut down my containment field."

Out of her peripheral vision, Liara watches as the well-armed human approaches the control panel and activates its interface. She's looking right at her.

The stasis field instantly loses power and gravity takes over her body.

"ooff," she grunts at the otherwise welcomed impact of the ground. She is free.

Liara rises up to her feet, smiling slightly at the sensation of being able to move again. She brushes the dirt from her gloved hands, and turns around to face the trio that set her free. They faced her from the entrance to the main tower of the prothean ruin.

"Any idea how we get out of this place?", the quarian questioned aloud as she stared intently at Liara for answers.

Pointing slightly towards the tower's entrance behind the trio, she responds:

"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator."

Liara began walking towards the group and into the entrance of the tower and quickly continued:

"It should take us out of here. Come on!"

All four of them walked quickly and with purpose towards the very center of the tower. Another control pannel, similar to the one which hosted the controls for the barrier curtains stood out in the center of the large cylindrical tower. Liara thinks back to what the human said about her mother and Saren. It's difficult to believe. Then again, she hasn't spoken to her mother in ages.

People change over time, maybe her mother did to.

They arrive to the center of the elevator next to the control panel. Liara stops in her tracks. She can't keep these thoughts to herself. She needs to ask:

"I - I still cannot believe all of this," the asari stammers in disbelief, which causes the other three to turn towards her. "Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the conduit," the quarian states, making it sound like the answer to Liara's question is obvious. "You're a Prothean expert. Obviously he wants you to help him find it."

"The conduit?", Liara responded in surprise, "But I don't know-"

An earth shaking rumble and the distant sounds of caves collapsing on themselves nearby interrupted the asari.

" _Well… There goes the security deposit on that equipment,_ " Liara thought to herself as she regained her footing. That would have to be a problem she would deal with later.

"What the hell was that?" the krogan questioned aloud, bringing forward the same thing everyone else on that elevator platform was asking themselves in that moment.

"These ruins aren't stable," Liara replied as she opened up the elevator's interface, "That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event."

"We have to hurry," she continued, with urgency, "The whole place is caving in!"

The human brings up her hand to an earpiece and begins a call.

"Joker!", the human snapped, "Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. On the double, mister!"

The small device beeped twice, indicating that the message has been received.

A digitized voice on the device spoke just loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear:

"Aye, aye, Commander," the man on the other end of the call acknowledged, "Secure and aweight. ETA eight minutes."

" _Commander hmm? That's good to know_ ," Liara thought to herself, keeping that information for reference.

The room shook again from another tremor caused by the tunnels collapsing around them.

"If I die in here, I'll kill him," the krogan threatened aloud; not realizing the irony in his comment.

With a push of one more button, the ancient elevator began moving upwards.


	5. Moving Up

**\- Chapter 5: Moving Up -**

* * *

 _A/N: Oh wow I've acquired some followers and a few favourites!_

 _Thank you so much!_

 _I'm trying my best here.. haha.. I dunno what else to say._

* * *

The movement of the elevator platform causes the tired Dr. T'Soni to momentarily lose her footing. The floor below her moved quickly for its age, carrying her and her odd rescue team upwards while the walls around them blurred. Gripping onto the panel for support, Liara stares at the elevator's controls in an effort to reduce her nausea (no doubt heightened by the motion of the platform below her).

Behind her and slightly to the left, Dr. T'Soni felt the human's eyes - the commander's eyes - boring into the back of her head. She won't turn around; she can't. She feels ill, but she maintains her composure as best as she can. Her main focus is to just get out of there.

The sounds of ruble crashing down echoed in the large elevator chamber. The earth beneath them shook, and the walls around them rumbled soon after.

"Can't this thing go any faster?", the quarian spoke out alarmed and impatiently as she whipped her arms out instinctively to regain her footing.

Liara hears the commander make a half step towards the center of the platform, which placed the commander in between the krogan and quarian and directly behind her.

Liara tightens her grip onto the elevator's controls.

"We're gonna be fine Tali," she heard the human shout out over the sound of the ruins collapsing around them.

" _How can she be so sure...?_ ", Liara caught herself thinking in a bit of a haze. The commander sounded firm, almost certain. It's almost like she's been through worse.

Then again, Liara knew that she didn't know much about humans. She's met a few krogan before, and a few less quarians, but this commander is the first human she's had the chance to meet for more than a brief cordial nod as they pass by. Her time working and researching in relative solitude and her time spent predominantly around people of her own species meant that - when it came to understanding the commander's mannerisms and everything - Liara only really had humanity's reputation to work with. As a scholar and researcher, she knew that the reputation of a species is a good starting point in order to better understand where they are coming from as a whole. But, to understand one individual, it is best not to place too much importance on the overall actions of their species in determining what kind of a person they are.

Liara knew that, unlike most other species recognized in Citadel council space, humans have always had a tendency to be bold, brash, and rather aggressive when it came to pursuing their goals. Liara also knew that humans have always had a reputation to continuously seek out ways in improving their quality of life and understanding of the universe around them. Sure it's caused some conflicts over the course of human history, but it has also proven to help the lives of other species as well over time... When they cooperated of course.

The way the human commander carries herself demonstrates - from Liara's perspective - that she is just as courageous as she is compassionate. Dr. T'Soni could respect that.

The structure around them began to rumble once more, this time more violently than the last.

Liara felt a strong hand touch down on her left shoulder, which released almost as quickly as it came down.

"Sorry about that," the commander utters out somewhat sheepishly at her own clumsiness, "are you alright?"

Liara peels her gaze away from the elevator controls and turns her body towards the commander standing slightly over her. The commander's gaze appearing slightly worried about the sudden touch - even though they both knew it was accidental. It's hard to maintain your footing when the ground below you is, quite literally, collapsing.

"Y-Y-Yes," the asari doctor stutters out quietly, looking up to the commander then immediately deciding against making eye contact.

"It shouldn't be that much higher..." she continues, glancing upward at the fast approaching ceiling.

"Look alive people!" the commander yells out, "we're almost there!"

The large circular elevator platform below them begins to slow down as they nearly reach the top. The sound of the brakes and skidding broken metal pierced the air, causing Liara to wince uncomfortably.

The outer ring of the platform folds outwards as the elevator comes to a stop. Liara and company turn their attention towards the main exit tunnel right next to the circular platform.

All of a sudden, the outline of the krogan battlemaster and a small squadron of armed geth come charging towards the edge of the elevator platform. A barrier curtain flickers on directly behind them, effectively blocking their exit.

" _Goddess... This can't be good..._ ", Liara thought to herself as she glared up towards the yellow krogan and his squad.

The commander signals to hold their position, before returning her gaze towards the krogan battlemaster.

" _Is she... Is she just..._ ", Liara panicked to herself as her thoughts raced in all different directions, " _Is she going to just hand me over to him? What's the plan here?_ "

Kicking herself for not considering the possibility that the brutish krogan, his geth, and the stern commander might all cooperate against her, Liara musters up as much strength as she could in preparation to flee or defend herself from everyone else in the room.

The krogan battlemaster smirks at the sight of the four of them in the center of the elevator chamber.

"Surrender,", he demanded in authoritative voice, "Or don't."

He shrugs, "That would be more fun."

"In case you didn't notice," the human commander shot back impatiently, "this place is falling apart!"

The battlemaster flashed a toothy grin.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" he chimed - indifferent at their crumbling surroundings - as he marched forward.

"Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us," he continued sternly, "Hand the doctor over."

The frightened and exhausted doctor holds her ground, putting on a brave face.

"Whatever it is you want," Liara states as firmly as she could, "you're not getting it from me."

Liara prepared herself for the possibility of betrayal from the very team that rescued her moments prior. She's not sure whose side anyone is on. However, she still holds some faith in the commander and her crew; hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. The asari turns her attention over towards the commander beside her, watching her stare down the krogan battlemaster. She takes some hope from the way the human's face beamed with a look of determination. Liara listens closely to the commanders words.

The commander grins a little and lets off a farewell wave towards the yellow krogan.

"She'll stay with us, thanks.", she says to the krogan. Her tone sounds almost as final as the tone of voice one would use to dismiss a panhandler in the street.

Pleasantly surprised by the commander's willingness to defend her from her would-be captors, Liara turns her attention back towards the brutish krogan blocking the exit.

The krogan's shit-eating grin falls flat at the commander's words.

"Not an option", he says while shaking his head, "Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants."

Liara looks back over towards the human in anticipation. She's beginning to feel light-headed again. She takes note of the commander's face, as it remained focused on the krogan in front of them.

"Kill them.", she hears the krogan command in a level-headed tone, "Spare the asari if you can."

Liara gulps audibly at the words.

"If not," the krogan shrugs in indifference, "doesn't matter."


	6. Escaping Therum (Part 1)

**\- Chapter 6: Escaping Therum (Part 1) -**

* * *

 _A/N: This one as well as the next chapter may be a bit short... but I still feel the need to have them split up  
_

 _I never really wrote down any sort of action sequence before, so this is quite the experiment._

 _I also feel like I could be too wordy just as I can be not wordy enough for things like this... I dunno._

 _Given the fact that Liara is not doing so hot at the moment, she wouldn't logically be paying attention to every minuscule aspect of the battle there..._

 _I just hope my writing can reflect that lol. I dunno. Keep reading if you want. Or don't. Whatever suits you! :)_

 _Thanks again! I'll see how many chapters I can crank out tonight. Maybe another two after this. I dunno._

* * *

In a flash, everyone else in the room withdrew their weapons and began to fire towards each other.

As shots rang out from nearly all sides, Liara collapsed on her hands and knees next to the elevator's control panel in the center of the room. She knows she's in no position to fight unless absolutely necessary. She hates that she's not able to offer much help for this fight, but she also knows that she would do more harm than good if she were to try and help with the offensive using the remainder of her stamina instead of protecting herself on the defensive side of things.

She made herself as small as she could on the floor; as it was now too dangerous to move.

She glanced up towards the door, which was still blocked by a barrier curtain, and a geth sniper with red armour plating crouching behind a few crates just shy of the exit.

It didn't matter all that much if they made it out of this fight if they were just going to end up stuck behind another barrier again.

Liara's biotic barrier fluctuated as a sniper shot ricocheted off of it. She ducked further behind the column that housed the elevator's control panel.

Liara blinked hard, drowning out the chaos that surrounded her. She had to do _something_ to help. Anything.

A shotgun blast rang out to the asari's right, a little too close for comfort. One of the geth shock troopers plummets to the ground with a lifeless thud. Its headlight fades to darkness one final time as the life escapes its electronic, bullet ridden body.

"Nice one Wrex!", Tali yelled out from the other side of the dome as she shot out a few more rounds from her pistol.

"LOOK OUT!," shouted the commander before firing off a few well-placed rounds right in the headlight of another geth shock trooper to the right of Liara. The geth beside her looked as though it was about to shoot the distracted scientist, but - luckily - the human shot it down with expert precision and timing.

Wide-eyes, and without time for a proper thank you, Liara brought her attention towards the control panel of the elevator.

" _Maybe this will work..._ ", the asari thought, gears turning in her head. If she coouldn't fight then she could focus on getting that last barrier down.

Another shot rang out from the battlemaster. A fury of bullets continued to zip through the room. Liara couldn't tell what was louder: the fight going on or the ruins crashing down around them.

"Fall back!", the commander cried out, "I've got this one."

From the corner of her eye, she saw the commander harness her assault rifle and withdraw her sniper rifle. Loading it up while taking cover behind one of the support towers in the elevator complex, the human raised the scope of the weapon and aimed it right at the geth sniper; unmoved from its position by the exit of the ruins.

She fires the gun. It kicks back with a great deal of force.

Direct hit. The geth sniper collapses to the ground in the distance.

Glad that the sniper wielding geth is out of the way, Liara opens up the control panel of the Prothean elevator. She tries her best not to draw too much attention to herself.

" _There must be a way to reset the barrier..."_ the lightheaded asari thought to herself as she navigated the ancient controls.

Adrenaline pumping, Liara tries a few more combinations that she could think of. She sees the barrier curtain flicker briefly in the distance, only to flicker back on again.

Another ground trembling quake shakes the structure. Liara shields her eyes at the control panel's rogue sparks of electricity.

 _Error: Malfunction Detected. Restart Required._ , it read.

More bullets rang past the doctor, as she crouches back towards the ground once more.

" _Well... There goes that idea..._ "

The krogan battlemaster, unbeknownst to Liara, stomped right around the corner from which she was crouched.

Wrex took it as an opportunity to take him by surprise, shooting the battlemaster square in the chest before charging him in a blood rage.

"Oof," the fuming krogan gasped from the impact shot.

Immediately after Wrex took a few steps back from the enemy krogan, Tali sent out a spherical attack drone towards the krogan. It shot relentlessly at the wounded battlemaster.

The krogan shoots down the drone, and it vaporizes into thin air. He defers his attention towards the crouched asari doctor.

Angry, the wounded krogan reloads his shotgun and aims it at Liara.

He lets out a guttural roar, Liara throws up her barrier as strong as she can - knowing very well there's no time to dodge the oncoming attack.

A Shot fires _. Bam_

Liara opens her eyes cautiously. She is greeted with the sight of the krogan on the ground, blood gushing from the bullet hole in his head. His red, bloodshot eyes rolls to the back of the skull of his limp and lifeless body.

Liara turns her head around to locate the source of the killer blow.

The commander holsters her sniper rifle.


	7. Escaping Therum (Part 2)

**\- Chapter 7: Escaping Therum (Part 2) -**

* * *

 _A/N: Part 2 of 2 for getting the absolute heck off of Therum!_

 _Fun stuff! This may be the last chapter for tonight... We shall see!_

 _I'll keep writing until I'm tired lol. But rest assured, this story will go on for a while. :)  
Ps: Reviews/comments/critiques/criticisms are all appreciated! I'm always looking to improve!  
_

* * *

The commander runs over to Liara and reaches out her hand to help her up. Liara takes it, appreciating the gesture.

Liara dusts off her hands and runs over to the exit with the commander, Wrex, and Tali. The exit is still blocked by the barrier curtain.

" _Now what?!_ " Liara thought to herself in alarm. She did try earlier to bring down the barrier, but nothing she tried worked.

The earth beneath them rumbled again, the sound of crashing rocks and metal sounded from behind them.

The barrier in front of them shone brighter at the fluctuation. Liara shielded her eyes from the burst of light, as did the commander, Wrex, and Tali. The barrier curtain seemed to have malfunctioned at an incredibly convenient time for their escape.

"That works.", Dr. T'Soni whispered to herself, barely audible with the sounds of their surroundings falling apart before them.

Liara lowered her arms from her face as the ground shook again. Huge boulders and sections of the cave in front of the four of them began to collapse.

The commander then springs into a sprint, with Wrex and Tali not far behind. Liara redirects all her attention to running. The doctor narrowly escapes a cave in from behind her. There's only one way out now.

" _Run_ ," she repeated to herself, refusing to give up despite her muscles begging and screaming for rest.

They turn the corner to the metal ramps leading up and out of the entrance tunnel. The metal creaked and clanged with each shift of the ground below them, and the ruble falling down around them. Liara did her best to shield her eyes from the debris. Her vision partially obscured by the steady fall of debris and dust, Liara relied on the shadows of the people in front of her and the sounds of their frantic footsteps to guide her way out.

They ran at top speed up the ramps of the cavern, cutting corners and vaulting over falling boulders as they climbed up the collapsing ancient ruins. With each stride, Liara could feel the destruction behind her gaining up on her.

The fleeing team of four turn another corner, flames are burning wildly nearby from all the destruction.

The commander stops and looks back, wide-eyed, towards her crew and Liara. They were not far behind her, but these ruins were caving in fast.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!", the commander screamed as she waved her arm in a rushing motion, encouraging Wrex, Tali and Liara to run ahead of her.

The commander regained speed right behind Liara. In this way, the commander could ensure that everyone in her group makes it out... Or at least makes it out before her.

The final metal ramp began to sway from side to side. Liara slipped a little from the shifting platform, but felt a little more at ease knowing the commander was right behind her. She leaps towards the more structurally sound (by a slight margin) concrete tunnel leading outwards.

" _Just a little further..._ " Liara groaned internally, fighting the urge her legs felt to give way from underneath her. Adrenaline can be quite a force to deal with. It was all it took to propel the asari forward for this long in the escape.

Dust filled the air and the tunnel began to crack. The blue rings of light that illuminated the tunnel zoomed past in a blur. She could see the exit hatch fast approaching.

A light not much brighter than the inside of the cave filled the scene as Wrex shoved the doors of the compound open. He lurched forward and down the other side of the ramp. Tali followed suit.

Smoke and dust filled the air and pushed the fleeing group forward slightly. It knocked Liara forward a little as she ran out the doors.

Tripping over herself and wheezing, Liara slows her pace down a little and looks back to find the commander. She is safely outside the doors of the now collapsed entryway, also out of breath. The commander looks back for a moment before turning her attention forward to resume her run.

Liara turns back around to follow Wrex and Tali. They were making their way on the ship hovering above them. Must be the Normandy.

The commander runs forward towards the open hatch of the ship, looking back to ensure that Liara got on as well.

Satisfied that everyone made it on safely, the commander ushers everyone further back into the cargo hold. The massive ship door pulls shut.

The commander switches on her radio again.

"Get us out of here, Joker!", she hollered into the device in her ear.

"On it!", Joker's voice calls out into the earpiece, loud enough for Liara to hear him next to the commander.

The ship takes off from Therum, as the planet gets engulfed in molten rocks and sulfuric gas.


End file.
